Barack Obama (Populist America)
Barack Hussein Obama was the 44th President of the United States, serving from 2009 to 2017 upon the expiration of his term by the 22nd Amendment. He is widely remembered with ending the United States's War in Iraq, the ending of the War in Afghanistan, the Pakistan War, ending the Great Recession, and building a larger coalition of support for the US within the world (particularly in the Muslim world). He is criticized for failing to end the war on drugs until after US National Guard forces had been deployed on the US Mexico border for three years, and for his inaction on Marijuana law, and Gay Rights. Foreign Policy President Obama focused most of his first term on building a coalition of support among the world's leading economic superpowers to pull the global economy out of spiral. His first meeting with the G-20 is largely signaled as a symbolic victory in repairing US-Foreign relations, but never truly achieved anything substantive in solving the Great Recession. Russia The London Summit did open the door for future dealings with China, South Korea, and Russia, however; and allowed President Obama and Russian President Meshidev to craft the New START nuclear arms treaty in the summer of 2009. This action was the first in a greater partnership between the US and Russia; New START was followed by the Treaty of Moscow. China President Obama's dealings with China were never more than luke warm, as President Hu Jintao largely perceived the resurgence of a dynamic American leader as a threat to the growing Chinese economic superpower. Towards the end of his first term, China began making threats at recalling US debt and seizing control of American owned factories in China. President Obama negotiated a deal that would allow the US to keep its current debt to China, but would have to remove American military bases in Taiwan. The US ownly removed half of the original proposed amount by China. North Korea While many conservatives have criticized the Obama administration's non-militant response to North Korea's failed satilite launch in 2009, the President did manage to negotiate an end to the Korean nuclear build up in 2013, with much greater economic sanctions and pressure from the PRC on the communist state. Mexico The 2nd Mexican-American war or the Drug War was considered the greatest failure of the Obama Administration. In October 2009 when Mexican Drug Cartels crossed the border into Arizona and California, over 200 Americans died in the rampage of the Drug Gangs. President Obama quickly responded with the deployment of the National Gaurd into the areas, and the invasion of Mexico in 2010, but never addressed the real cause of the Cartel war until the voice of ending the drug war had become a roar. Many attribute this hesitance to de-criminalize recreational drugs to the President's college days, and a subconscious fear of reprisal from the American public for a former cocaine user being soft on drugs. The Second Mexican-American War eventually came to an end following the US occupation of Northern Mexico, and capture of most of the Cartels. Somali Pirates President Obama's first tangible victory in military affairs was his handling of the Somali Pirate kidnapping of one American merchant ship captain. Quietly giving two orders for navy snipers to shoot if necessary, the captain was rescued and returned home within a day of the start of the crisis. The event re-ignited Obama's nickname "No-Drama-Obama." Cuba In 2009 President Obama began relaxing US-Cuban relations, and passed legislation that made it easier for Cuban Americans to visit family in the communist island nation. Trade tensions were also relaxed, making it easier for American tech-com companies to sell their products in Cuba. Haiti President Obama oversaw the largest surge of disaster relief towards Haiti from any nation following the devistating 2010 earthquake. The aid the US sent ultimately culminated in a psuedo protectorate status of Haiti, historiens consider this President obamas greatest acomplishment next to health care Domestic Policy 2009 Economic Stimulus American Economic Recover and Reinvestment Plan, better known as the "Stimulus" was a massive surge in tax cuts for the middle class, and economic stimulus. The plan was met with luke warm reception by economists who argued the plan didn't go far enough to grow the economy and should include more stimulus spending. The plan did show a mark success in recovering the American financial sector, but did little to create more jobs than it saved. The plan really did not begin to show fruitful results until 18 months after it had been implemented, leading to a period of fairly low domestic approval ratings for the president on the economy. FY 2010 Budget The largest growth in government in US history, the FY 2010 Budget created a 3.5 trillion dollar government debt, and was largely focused on reforming healthcare, and funding greater economic stimulus programs. The Campaign Finance Amendment The 28th Amendment to the US Constitution, better known as the Campaign Finance Amendment, was jointly introduced by President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Senator John McCain, Senator Feingold, and Congressman Barney Frank. The Amendment was the rallying cry for Democrats and moderate Republicans in the 2010 midterms, and while it ultimately passed in 2011, leaving one year for the few "Corporate Congressmen" to obstruct a few pieces of legislation, the effects of the Amendment are widely credited as the most far reaching until the Populist Revolution in the 2028 Elections. The Amendment ultimately ended the status of Coorporations and Unions as citizens, required that all campaign donations be anonymous, and gave Congress the power to limit the amount that could be donated; though these limites could not be subject to party or office. These restrictions caused a swell of more liberal candidates in the 2012 elections but also resulted in the eventual fracture of poltical parties that created the Libertarian, Green, and short-lived Conservative Party. The War on Drugs President Obama is largely criticized for his condescending responses towards calls for ending the drug war. Already 75% of Americans believed the war on drugs was not working, and as the Mexican war escalated, the president showed little sign of wanting to end the policy war. Obama received hash criticism on the Blogosphere for his veto of the first piece of legislation that would have decriminalized marijuana for recreational purposes, and did not sign the second bill until after the Cartel War escalated into what some were calling a quagmire. Censorship President Obama did very little to end FCC censorship of radio and television, but was the most active president in promoting net-neutrality, and signed the 2010 On-Line Communication Act into law on January 29th, 2010. The Torture Memos Many were angered by President Obama's desire to "move forward," when dealing with the calls to prosecute the Bush administration, even as the White House released scores of documents, now known as the Torture Memos, only intensifying the country's outrage towards the former president and the former Justice Department lawyers. In April 2009, President Obama began to shift his position, and while maintaining that the CIA should not be prosecuted for carrying out orders from the President, he asked Attorney General Holder to begin examining any federal crimes the Bush administration may have committed. The final tally rested at 375, but the former Lawyers John Yoo and Judge Jay Bybee were never prosecuted, only disbarred. In 2010 following the resounding victory for democrats and the first libertarians and populists the President finally called for a special prosecutor, stating, "While I did not want my presidency to be about retribution or a partisan investigation, the evidence of injustice is overwhelming. No one is above the law, and while I still fear partisan politics in this investigation, I am willing to take the risk to uphold our constitutional obligations." The investigation eventually led to the enditment of several Bush administration officials, but most high level cabinet members were aquitted on the grounds that only a few were guilty of malicious intent. Healthcare One of President Obama's first acts upon entering office was insuring some 6 million children under federal healthcare programs. Shortly thereafter the FY 2010 budget placed additional funding towards healthcare reform. When the Senator Al Franken was finally seated, giving the Democrats a supermajority, President Obama began to craft his Universal Healthcare Act through congress. The bill (ultimately an algamation of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Max Bacus, and the President's plans) narrowly passed without a public health insurance option in March of 2010 after many delays in the House and Senate. The process of crafing the bill revealed the deep political divide in America as no other policy had in recent years; the most notable examples being the so called, "Town Hall Protests," "Tea Baggers," and "Deathers," where liberal and conservatives often entered into open conflict over the plan. After much negoiation in Washington with Republicans and Conservative Democrats, President Obama began a much more agressive campaign for healthcare reform, turining around some of the lowest polls of his presidency, and gaining support from moderates and liberals alike. The plan, however, was somewhat watered down by Senate Republicans and conservative Democrats, but did cover 95% Americans, and promised to reduce the federal deficit by over a trillion dollars by 2030. Once signed the bill let Obama claim victory over his greatest campaign promise from 2008. President Obama eventually was able to pass a more expansive amendment to the original bill in 2012 that expanded Medicare to people over 55 and Medicade to people three times above the poverty level, and placed an earmark that covered genetic or stem cell therapies. Once signed the bill let Obama claim victory over his greatest campaign promise from 2008, though with all the loop holes left open, many today see it as a cop-out victory. Right Wing Extremist Groups In April of 2009, President Obama and the Department of Homeland Security released a report to law enforcement officers about the risk of right wing extremist groups potential for recruiting new members and possibly even military veterans. This report was promptly chastised in major media outlets and many conservative talk show hosts went so far to claim that the Obama administration was talking about them. The report was based on the potential risk of white supremacist and other radical right wing groups growing support from the election of an African American president. In 2010 this came to fruition with the assassination attempt of President Obama. The radical was not a member of the KKK or the Neo-Nazis, or was even a veteran, but rather an associate of the "American Liberation Front," a radical right wing fringe group dedicated to armed rebellion. The group was destroyed in 2011 thanks to the efforts of the DHS and FBI, but certain radical right wing attacks continued throughout President Obama's tenure, though few lives were ever actually lost. Cabinet The Obama administration made a controversial move before even taking office by asking then Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush to stay on for at least a year. This is the first time that a high level cabinet official from a previous administration (of an opposing party) has stayed on to serve with a new administration. The Obama administration was also plagued with several withdrawals from ranking nominees due to tax issues in the early days of presidency, however most high level positions were filled at the end of the first 100 days. In 2010 Robert Gates stepped down from the Defense Department and was replaced by UN Ambassador Susan Rice. Rice's confirmation was quick and easy, as she was almost unanimously confirmed 91-9. Hillary Clinton's nomination to the State department turned many heads, and even more so when she was replaced by liberal lion John Kerry as Secretary of State; mainly due to the rumored bitterness of not become Secretary first round. In 2012, with the floods turning the US economy once again on its head, President Obama asked Tim Geithner to step down from Treasury. Geithner was never the most popular Secretary of the Treasury, even when his financial sector plans came to fruition. He was replaced by Obama's 37th Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter R. Orszag. Orszag pushed a much more radical economic agenda, and is largely credited with the success of the modern American socio-democratic state. Supreme Court Nominees *Sonia Sotomayor– 2009, replacing David Souter making Obama the first President to appoint a hispanic to the Supreme Court *Seventh Circuit Judge Diane Pamela Wood– 2010 replacing John Paul Stephens. * Solicitor General Elena Kagan- 2011 replacing Ruth Bader Ginsberg *D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick B. Garland- 2014 replacing Antonin Scalia President Obama managed to move the Supreme Court to the left with the resignation of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. Obama also became the first president to appoint almost all women to vaccant seats. Since the structure of the court changed Obama and other liberal presidents have been able to change domestic laws of the land. Public Perception President Obama is widely considered to be one of America's better presidents, and today is a symbol of cooperation and tolerance in the world. In late 2009 President Obama became the fourth US President to win the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor that actually resulted in general bemusement at the time, but today is looked back on as fondly as much of his presidency. Often called a consumate centrist, and compromiser, President Obama is still heavily criticized by the more radical members of the political right and left for how much he compromised to achieve moderately liberal policies. Many historians have attribute President Obama to the shift to a Center America, and is credited to the resurgence of the US economy and American political power on the world stage. He is seen in the Zeitgeist as the most personable president, and is credited for rebuilding the link from the people to the white house. Obama is ultimately best known in the zeitgeist as "The Great Uniter." Category:Populist America Category:People (Populist America) Category:Presidents of the United States Category:Obama